TED Talks streamed at Langara library draw small crowd

Despite TED Talks being streamed live at Langara last week, few students attended.

TED Talks is an annual conference where live speakers come together to talk about innovative ideas and inspiring topics.

This year the 30th annual meeting of TED was held in Vancouver with tickets being sold at $7,500 and higher.

Attendees saved $7,500 each

The talks were streamed for free for students and employees in the Langara library.

Langara vice-president Brad O’Hara said he was excited to have the college selected to serve as a screening venue, enabling students to view them without the high price.

“There has been quite a buzz around the city for weeks about TED,” O’Hara said. “I’m happy that we can provide our students, faculty, and staff with opportunities to participate without cost.”

Students unaware of stream, busy studying for exams

However, the low student turnout, said Langara criminology student Melissa Malano, could have been caused by lack of advertising on campus.

“There really isn’t an easy way to see who is going to be speaking,” Malano said. “I don’t know what the schedule is, and I haven’t seen any posters about it.”

Coby Friesen, currently in the Studio 58 program at Langara, said students did not get enough information on what the talks were about and that he was too busy with school to attend.

“I heard about it one time, but then it just slipped my mind,” he said. “I think TED Talks appeals to me, but I’m also so busy in my program.”

Lindsay Tripp, a copyright librarian at Langara, attributed the poor turnout to the time of year.

“It’s such a busy time for students, everyone is immersed in studying for exams and preparing final papers,” she said.

As for lack of advertising, Tripp said TED has restrictions on how widely you can advertise for the live stream and that Langara was confirmed to stream the talks only a few days before the conference started, giving the college little time to spread the word.